So we’re crossing the year long milestone here @ the MiB and celebrating in style! Giving away our fourth contest pushing the total amount given away this year close to $1,000! Thanks to everyone for making it worthwhile and I’m happy to craft up this one giving away more than any prior contest! Coincidentally fellow MoneyLifeNetwork writers FreeFromBroke and SenseToSave are in the same boat! Happy Anniversary guys!

So FreeFromBroke and I decided to merge forces with this contest and offer you more than 1 way to enter and win during the dual-contest offering! So after reading and commenting on this one, buzz over to FreeFromBroke.com to see the flip-side of our question coin and toss your name in the hat for another chance to win!

The Prizes

The last 3 promotions (Contest1, Contest2, Contest3) the rules seemed to work very well and rewarded everyone accordingly. Ergo, there are a total of thirteen (13) prizes worth over $300 that will be given away! I have been given several books and an interesting piece of software in the past year, so I figured it best to give back to the site what was given to me. Feel free to trade or sell them yourself if you’d like once you win!

Q: Can you win more than one prize?A: Indeed! In theory, one person COULD win them all if they had all 100 entries and luck of the draw was on their side! 🙂 but the last 3 contests had separate winners, but this contest has more prizes than ever before!

***NEW***Top Commenter for the month (next 3 weeks) gets $50 – no drawing, just a giveback to the folks that are regulars, but newcomers are welcome to give it a whirl (includes new comments on past articles also but comments need to be relevant)! – $50.00 (American Express Gift Card or direct pay via PayPal.com

Total Contest Value = $309.74

The Question

So the question each person needs to answer is:

What is the single most important thing you’ve learned over the past year?
(It can be ANYTHING you’ve learned, no holds barred here!)

My Answer(s) To The Question

There are a handful of ways this can go because there really is something new you learn every day, or so they say. To get the creative juices flowing, I’d provide you with a few of my most lessons learned in the past 365 days:

1. Planning ahead. Whether it is for work or play, putting in the extra time will save you more than just time.
2. Adobe Photoshop – I’ve gotten pretty good at Photoshop over the past year and I’ve started to cook up a few pretty nice prints as of recent.
3. Google Adsense – it really does matter where you put your ads if you want people to click them. 😉
4. Ads Blacklist for Google Adsense – You’re not going to make ANYTHING if you don’t filter who you’re allowing to advertise.
5. Internet friends are good to have – I didn’t think that I’d be able to connect with people on this site as well as I have and I’ve actually built a pretty good network of friends.
6. Money isn’t everything – I turned down a job or 2 this year and I’m not upset about it because it doesn’t drive your workload.
7. My 3 and 4 year old daughters will eat anything if you offer them one chocolate chip afterwards. 😉
8. The New England Patriots aren’t unstoppable.
9. People seem to be divided 50/50 on going to Iraq to take a job.
10. Spongebob Squarepants birthday is July 14, 1986.
11. Daily blogging isn’t needed to keep a reader base. If you write good content, people won’t ditch you by posting less frequently.

The Entries

There are actually 100 possible entries you can have if you use all the options, so read these rules closely!

The Rules

There is no purchase necessary and it won’t improve your chances to win, but I’m always up for free $ if you’d like to send me some.

If it works as planned, I’m happy to offer more giveaways in the future.

The winners will be selected by random number generator.

The winners will be chosen on October 15, 2008 @ 12pm Pacific Standard Time(PST).

Anyone of any age can enter unless it is illegal in your area.

The winners will be contacted via email, SO LEAVE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS IF YOU WANT TO BE CONTACTED! I promise I will NEVER use your email address for evil purposes. Just to contact you to tell you that you’ve won. You don’t even need to leave a real name if you don’t want, just a valid email address (and home address if you win). If the email address isn’t valid, I’ll use the random number generator to pick another name.

All prizes are provided “as is”.

If you want to host my next giveaway, I’m happy to consider your offer. Contact me.

The odds of winning depend on how many people are involved. I can’t give you this info now, but I can assure you, it’s easier to win than the standard lottery.

By getting in on this you allow MyInvestingBlog to republish what you write either on this blog or other spots.

I am the judge and jury as to what is a “relevant” post. If you’re following the rules above, you’re most likely a valid post; but I reserve the right to delete your post if I feel it isn’t relevant to this blog. For example, if you write something like: “I really like giftcards, and I really really like free gift certificates!” You’ll probably not get in. Please make it a valid post!

The most important thing I have learned this year is that I am not indestructible. I had a serious accident which could have killed me, and I can’t sit around waiting for things to happen. I have to make them happen. I need to get my finances taken care of and I need to start accomplishing some life goals.
I learned that the hard way, but at least I learned.

Sign me up for learning to take my wifes advice! I was stubborn and thought I always had the right answer, but listening to her really has made a difference! A big thank you to wives everywhere, and guys, SOMETIMES they’re right! 😉

Gail

The most important thing I learned this year was that it is possible for me to live on a budget…and still be really happy! I also learned that PF Bloggers have such a wealth of information to share and form such a great community. Thank you!

barry

I learned that friends and money don’t mix well. They need to be completely separate entities because when it comes down to it, money can ruin your perspective of them. 🙁

I’ve learned that a steady 8-5 job is not the best way to spend your youth on. It is also not the answer to financial security. I just resigned last June after 5 years of being employed and so far it has been the best decision I ever made. I work freelance now and have more time to enjoy my life 🙂

Single most important thing I’ve learned? Enjoying life with the ones you love is more important than anything else. It’s more important than work, running your own business, buying “things,” or anything else. Our time is limited, and we need to make the best of what time we have.

I’ve learned that you have to learn to respect and love yourself. I was always taking someone else’s slack and it took me a looooooong time to walk away from it. I’m not used to feeling this way but over time, I’m slowly starting to wonder why I always doubted myself. It’s a daily struggle but I know I’m getting better at it!

Laura

Be prepared and be flexible – This time last year I had no idea that I’d be dealing with the fallout from my parents’ divorce, deaths in the family, an expensive trip to the emergency room, expensive car maintenance, and stress over planning and paying for a wedding as frugally as possible, among other things. I learned about putting things into perspective and the importance of being ready for life’s curveballs.

I’ve come to the realization that dreams change as your life changes. I spent 47 years getting to where I am, and it’s exactly where I wanted to be, but guess what? I still have 30+ possible years ahead of me–that’s a whole other lifetime I have to create new dreams for. The past doesn’t have to dictate your future.

Just wanted to stop by to say happy anniversary. But I see you are holding a giveaway too.
What have I learned in the past year? Many things for sure, but the one that stands out in the one year that I have been blogging is that people are more interested in learning how to save a buck this week, than how to do it for life. I have noticed that my entries about “deals” are more popular than those about living the good ‘ole frugal life.

I just discovered your site, but I’m very interested taking a peek around. Thanks!

Oh, and in answer to your question…

I think one of the most important things I’ve learned this year is that living without a credit card is totally and completely possible. Okay, so I think I knew that already, BUT this year is when it really sank in.

I learned to save money and starting to say no to the kids. Never too old to start and I am worried with all the rising costs,did away with credit cards,spending without thinking. Its adds up fast.
I added you widget to my bloghttp://www.pegsplay.blogspot.com

I’ve learned that the internet can be even more distracting than the cubicle mate laughing on the phone next to you. I need to stay focused and not get distracted every 5 minutes. The internet is a wonderful tool, but also has many ways to distract us from writing.

I already did the following, commented to this post (5 entries), favorited to technorati my username is Rocks21,(5 entries), subscribed to your RSS feed, using the e-mail above (10 entries) and added you to my blogroll (5 entries), please let me know if I done it right!

The most important realization I’ve had this year is that your dreams change as your life changes. I spent 47 years getting to where I am and it’s exactly where I want to be, but guess what? I’ve got 30+ possible years of life ahead of me…that’s a whole other lifetime I have to create dreams for. The past doesn’t have to dictate the future–my future is as wide open as any 20 year old’s.

i have learned that those that say, “you can trust me” are the ones that will stab you in the back for their own personal gain . Then kicking you out along side of the road and driving off. Yep! i am not in a good mood today and i am steadily losing faith in the human race.

I’ve learned two things:
1) that although I can’t really “live in the cloud” .. I really like the concept and I’ve been consciously trying to make the effort to do so (gmail, toodledo, clipperz, Foxmarks, etc)
2) the cost of growth is enormous online, including time, money and resources

The most important thing I’ve learned is how much we control our situation. Even though some things are out of your control, you can have fallback plans in place or work on other options. It’s better to steer the shp instead of just going where the currents take you.

couple of things …i hope hehe
1.that its ok to socialize with all kinds of ppl,but the close circle around you should be selected very carefully.
2.that i should trust in God then in myself and just go ahead and write and even publish it..who cares if its not perfect?yes i do have some perfectionist gene in me..
3.that sometimes its best to not win an argument even if you are obviously right…
4.that being aware of your intentions goes a long way 🙂

BBx

I’ve learnt that you must focus and always have in mind the one thing you wish to achieve. Thanks!

It’s been a rough, and intensely educational year for me & mine. We’ve learned that we can survive on our wits & talents alone. We’ve learned to shrug off our shackles & have escaped the cubicle maze! This year I’ve gone from being a directionless, apathetic loner to being a (so far) successful husband, father, CEO & have become an accomplished artist as well. It’s been a helluva year! 🙂
Thanks for letting me share it!
– Ken

I’ve learned that it’s better to live with less if the return is that you are less stressed and better able to spend time with your children while they’re still children. Guard what comes out of your mouth so it doesn’t come back to bite you. And finally, it you don’t manage your money it will manage you!

I think the most important things I’ve learned this year have had to do with producing and storing my own food. I’ve learned that even on a normal suburban lot, an amazing amount of food can be produced. I now know that we could certainly produce the *majority* of the food we eat on our 2/3 of an acre if we were serious about it. Gleaning, foraging, fishing, and hunting would push us into the range of directly producing about 90% of what we eat, if we wanted to get serious about those things too.

Specifically, I’ve learned:

-that 1300 square feet of densely planted garden space is manageable by one person, given sufficient time and interest. Help from another person is nice when I can get it though.

– how to keep laying hens in a rotational grazing system, and how dynamically they contribute to a homesteading situation.

– how to can foods.

– how to dry foods.

-that having a chest freezer is invaluable when trying to produce your own food, but that managing its inventory requires attentiveness and organizational skills.

-that it’s very possible (in fact, downright easy) for us to source our food almost entirely locally, with the exceptions being pantry items such as bread flour, sugar, tea, and oils.

-that when we eat seasonally and from our own garden, we don’t feel deprived of the fruits and vegetables suited to climates other than our own. We don’t miss tomatoes in January, or asparagus in September.

-that we can spend less than $75 per month on groceries, at least during the warm months of the year, to feed two adults.

Thanks for the opportunity to ponder this important question. I may decide to run with this idea on my own blog.

Hi!
Your contest is simple and interesting. I have blogged about it on my contest blog ContestHub.net
Please inform me about your further contests to let more people know about them. Feel free to submit them here – it is free.
Here is the link to my blog post.
Cheers, Contest Hub.

I’ve learned that the personal habit holding me back from success is being consistent. To combat this personal deficiency, I started a blog where I consistenntly publish 2 posts per week. Consistency has now spilled over into other facets of my life and I feel I am really taking off. I’m very excited about the future!
-HIB

I have learned that only way to achieve your dreams is to jump into it headlong. You can always analyze a situation to death but you never know for sure until you take the plunge. I started a manufacturing business in this tough environment last year

Through this year I’ve learn many things, but most of all are:
1. Forex Investment is not that easy. It would be a long long journey to master the game.
2. Internet marketing is indeed driving a lot of money
3. Consistency is more than just WORD.

here are my entries:
– answers (5 entries):
1. Winning a contest is a matter of effort and luck. No need at all to do all the requirements, just some you can do them quickly, cross your fingers and PRAY! 😀
2. Spend your time on small contests with few participants with least effort to win or big contests with the least participants as well as huge contests no matter how many are in 🙂 .
3. Deadline your goals.
4. Don’t be affraid to eliminate unproductive routines.
5. Using Google Trends, Google Insight, Google Adwords Keyword Tool, Google Search to research keywords.

The single most important thing I’ve learned this year is that the power of praise works as well on my as it does on a two year old. We all want to be pat on the back, and when we are, it’s sometimes enough to push us further than we thought we could go.

Justine Hiraoka

The single most important thing I learned this year was how to truly and completely love myself. I realized that things that happen in life are events, and there are stories we create about events. I took responsibility that I had been creating myself as an unworthy, failing person that had nothing to contribute to the world. I took ownership of the difference between the events and stories I created about my life, and once I understood, I mean REALLY understood that it simply wasn’t true, and that I was whole and complete and perfect just the way I was, I fell in love with myself. That has been the single most important thing I learned this year. I gave myself life by loving myself and I am eternally grateful for that.

Wow! That is a loaded question. With all one learns in just a week, trying to pin down Things I’ve Learned in the past year could (and will) be a post in itself. The most important lesson I learned in the last year is that community means everything. I guess you’ll have to read my post to know the detail of that statement! 🙂

The most important thing I learned is how to just take a break. To let it go for a few minutes. Instead of telling my son “just a minute” or “lemme finish this one thing” I spend more time with him. He’s happier, I’m happier. Everyone’s happier.

The most important thing I learned this year is that it’s okay to be selfish once in a while. I have never been one to overlook others for the sake of myself and this year, that has not benefited me. So, I learned to put myself ahead of others for once, for my health, respect, and piece of mind.

Julie

The most important thing that I have learned this past year is people no matter who they are or how close you may think you are to them can never be trusted and will stabb you in the back if they have a chance or if it will get them what they want.

The past year has been full of learning for me… I think some of the key points are:
– It’s ok for me to just be me – I struggled with that in the past.
– Kids are expensive but lots of fun.
– Moving cross-country back home is tiring.
– You may love family but you do not necessarily have to like them.
– How to set up a blog and start writing (I am still learning this!)

Thanks for the contest – it has been interesting reading up on what all other folks have learned as well.

the single most important thing that i have learned this year is:
1. the year is not over.
2.i am still looking for this tree where all the money is growing.
3. if i can get two more years out of my used car, it will finally be worth what i paid for it.
4.no use crying over anything spilt,(except for biohazard and radioactive waste)
5. the sounds and sights of my children laughing and having fun……..priceless

I’ve learned simply that we can do more than what we think we can, no matter who the doubter may be, even if that person is ourselves. I discovered this in my quest to put away $10,000 in a single year (2008). Never say “can’t”.

anita

Hi there, been following but never commented. Not a huge blogger but I love reading other people’s blogs. What I learned this year? I should have quit my job a long time ago. I wasted so much time at a crappy job when I have been offered almost 30% more outside in the private industry. I could have saved more towards a house. Another thing I learned being a landlord(not by choice, couldn’t afford my increasing mortgage payments) don’t let niceness get in the way. I let this nice couple (best tenants ever) paint the bedroom, in the end it was horribly done, the butchered my ceiling with orange paint blobs. It cost me over 500 dollars to get the entire room and ceiling repainted to a neutral.

Lynn

For me is that I’ve to learn not to follow others blindly but make my own decisions.

I dont really know what you talking about right here. This cant be the only way to think about this can it? It appears like you understand a lot, so why not explore it more? Make it a lot more accessible to everyone else who might not concur with you? Youd get a lot more individuals behind this should you just stopped making common statements.

Disclaimer

I am not a financial expert. I am good with my money and I would like to be able to someday give better financial advice to my kids than I got when I was young. Don't take anything I say as GOLD. Take it with a grain of salt and form your own opinion of how you should use your money.